Kingdom ready to rumble

The Kerry footballers will take part in a fight night in January to raise money for their training fund.

County chairman Patrick O’Sullivan confirmed the event will take place in the INEC Killarney on Jan 5.

“It’s early days yet but we have agreed to stage a Fight Night in Killarney on January 5 and it will involve footballers and hurlers, past and present,” he said.

“We’ll be getting a boxing coach in to give guidance to the fighters and bouts will be arranged on the basis of weight, ability and age.

“We will have some of the match-ups shortly but it will be a good mix of current and past players who might fancy themselves in art of pugilism. We are hoping to spice it up a bit by having a local celebrity or two in the ring and we might even get a journalist or two into the ring,” quipped O’Sullivan.

The prospect of potential match-ups between Mike Quirke and Kieran Donaghy, Paul Galvin and Tomás Ó Sé, or possibly Darragh Ó Sé and Tadgh Kennelly whets the appetite but few will want to be paired against Kerry senior hurler Gary O’Brien from Ballyduff who was juvenile boxing champion.